HUMP DAY!!! Half Way!

Wow! I cannot believe we have made it to this point! When we were dropping him off at the airport and I couldn't leave until he made it all the way through security where I couldn't see him anymore, I never thought this day would come. I was sure my heart would shrivel right up and yet here we are. Through much prayer and faith I didn't know I had we made it half way! That means we are on the downward slope, which makes me smile and yet...what a journey this has been. What an amazing testimony builder it has been. What an exciting thing to see the growth in Alex and in all of us as we all strive to be equal to what he is accomplishing. I love this gospel. This true gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ. We are so lucky to know it and be a member of this amazing church.
 Loved this quote:
"No power on earth or in hell can stop this work or thwart the purposes of the Lord to have His soul-satisfying gospel message go to His children. It may take disasters in many forms to bring it about. But the purposes of God will be achieved. His children will hear the gospel of salvation in His own due time." Ezra Taft Benson

The Lord is hastening His work and we get to witness this amazing time! What a blessing! 

So for Hump Day we sent Alex a shirt that I thought was pretty appropriate for my Spanish speaking Elder. Instead of the traditional camel shirt ;) We did send camel sugar cookies though :)

June 23, 2014

Hola!

Youth conference sounds like it was amazing!! I'm so happy that you
guys had fun! Man I wish I could've gone. :) so T got a shotgun?! Haha
that's awesome!! I'm glad to hear that your birthday went well, bud!
Now you're 14! Crazy... Haha

That's a super awesome story about Elder Holland’s father. We had an
awesome training last night on the same thing! President Cusick and
Elder Thompson (the area 70) came down and gave a training to all the
ward council members in the stake. It was amazing!! All the
missionaries were there too. Our ward is already doing a great job
with it though, but there were definitely things we can work on. It
was really good.

Yeah, I got my package. Thank you!!! Haha it was awesome!! I’m actually
wearing the shirt and bracelet right now. Haha the cookies are amazing
as well!! And that little poem was super cool. I read it to my
companions.

Yes, we are still in a trio. It's interesting. We will probably just
stay like this the rest of the transfer. So we will see how that goes.

So this last week we had a fairly normal week. We had a zone meeting,
basically just a district meeting with all the districts in the zone.
Not a zone conference. It was good. They talked about chapter 8 and
how we can be better planners. It was awesome. We also donated
blood... Haha that was my first time. But all of the requirements to
donate I "crushed" according to the guy checking everything. My iron
level and my cholesterol and everything they checked was perfect. I
was happy about that. Haha I also found out my blood type. Didn't know
that before. But it was fun. Free cookies and juice. Haha we talked
with some of the nurses and stuff so that's why we can do that. It's a
finding activity. It was fun. Nothing else super unusual happened this
week.

Spiritual experience this week was interesting. It was only a short
moment. It was during the training last night. President Cusick was
kind of throwing down on our stake and then he stopped and said, "All
of the missionaries who have an inactive or less active member in
their immediate or extended family, stand up." So, I think all of us
stood up.... Elder Clark had us do this also, at our zone conference,
but it was different having the members see us... Then he said, "What
would you give in order to bring those people back? To bring them that
happiness?" He called up sister Lewis and she answered for us all.
ANYTHING. The spirit was so strong and it was definitely an amazing
experience. All of us just standing there in front of our wards. All I
could think about were those members of my extended family, as well as
my friends, who don't have the happiness that I have... Then he told
the stake what Elder Clark told us. "Take care of other families, and
someone will take care of yours."

 I'm also going to add the scripture
in this week. It is going to be D&C 61: 3. I think I've already done
this one before, but I don't care. I feel as if I need to do it again,
so here it is: "But verily I say unto you, that it is not needful for
this whole company of mine elders to be moving swiftly upon the
waters, whilst the inhabitants on either side are perishing in
unbelief."  People are all around you. You don't have to be gone for  a
year and a half to two years in order to change a life. In fact, as a
missionary, sometimes it sucks, knowing that you left family and
friends back home who don't feel that same happiness and joy that you
feel, but as we take care of other peoples families, someone will take
care of ours. Everyone you see is someone's dad, mom, brother, or
sister. They could be yours. So go share what you have. They need it,
even if they don't know it. Be bold. Loving, but bold. What are you
afraid of? After this life they will be eternally grateful, if they
are not right now. As missionaries we walk up to people and the first
thing out of our mouth is, "Do you want to be baptized?" "Do you want
to have all of your sins completely gone?" "Do you want to know how
you can live forever with your family?" Who asks those kinds of
questions to random people on the street? We do! Why? BECAUSE WE LOVE
THEM!! So how much do you love your family and friends?

I am so grateful for this gospel. I have no idea where I would be
without it. I cannot even fathom my life without it. My family is the
most important thing to me, aside from the gospel and I have been so
blessed to have them. I love each one of you. I truly do. I hope that
you know that. If you don't, email me and I'll make sure you do. :) I
hope that you are all safe and doing well. I am grateful for each of
your prayers on my behalf and for the other missionaries in the world.
I can feel the blessings from them and I am eternally grateful. I wish
you all a wonderful week and I am keeping you all in my prayers. I
love you!

Love,
Elder Moyes

Enviado desde mi iPad

¡¡Feliz Día del Padre!!

So the mouse story that Alex refers to is NOT a funny one but one I will share so you know what he was talking about. 

I did not do real well after my surgery on Friday. The anesthesia and I didn't get along and so I was at the hospital for about 7 long hours after the actual surgery. We finally were able to leave and then David had to drive around looking for a pharmacy open at midnight.  We finally made it home and as I groggily stepped out of the car with my crutches I notice something run up the grass on towards the porch. I do not like mice, I don't know why after all I'd already been through I had to experience this but it was a mouse. David was shining his light to see where it went and it went right up the wall onto the porch light above the front door. Not nice. Fortunately David knows me well and is my hero so he squirted that mouse down with the hose and washed it into the grass and knocked it on the head with a rock and saved the day! Not a funny story but a story non the less. I am grateful that day is behind me and that I have such a great family and friends who pitch in and always help me out! David wrote the missionary letter this week otherwise that mouse story might have been forgotten, along with the rest of whatever happened Friday after 1. ;)

Happy Father's Day picture from Alex

  

And here is a sweet poem Alex wrote for his dad for Father's Day. The great things you get when you don't spend money :)

Thanks For Being You

Love: Alex

Thanks for being you

You are the greatest father,

A boy could ever have.

You know how to make me smile,

And how to make me laugh.

You’re always there to protect us,

Even if we don’t understand.

We always know we can count on you,

To be that helping hand.

Sometimes we get annoying,

Sometimes we make you mad.

But I’m grateful for those other times,

The times we make you glad.

You treat my mother with respect,

I can see it in your eyes.

How much you truly love her,

With a love that never dies.

You always put her feelings first,

There never is much strife.

I want to follow your example,

When I finally get a wife.

You always think of others,

And what their needs may be.

You’ve always been a great example,

For our family.

You are a faithful priesthood holder,

I wish that you could see.

The impact that has truly had,

In what I want to be.

Heavenly Father gave me you,

To help me learn and grow.

I could never pay him back enough,

For the greatest gift I know.

You’re the man who helped me grow,

The man I look up to.

I could never have a better dad,

Thanks for being you.

You guys are having some pretty crazy weeks lately! I'm glad to hear
that the surgery went well, for the most part. I'm sorry about the
nausea and pain. :/ that's no fun. I hope that you get better soon,
Mom!

I am so excited for you guys to go to youth camp!! It'll be so much
fun! John Bytheway is awesome, you guys are going to have a blast!

Sounds like work is keeping you busy, Dad. I guess that's good. :) I
hope that everything continues to go well there!

Oh man... The World Cup... Ugh!! Haha I miss it! We went over to try
and visit one of our investigators, but they were busy watching the
World Cup with some people. Right after that we left and went to a
members house and guess what was on? Yup, the World Cup. Haha I really
wish we could watch it, but oh well.

That mouse story is awesome!! I read it to the other missionaries and
they thought it was so sick! Haha

Alright, yeah I still have two companions. The new one is Elder Snell.
His companion went home on the 6th for some knee surgery. Elder Snell
has been here for 9 months about. He is an English missionary. He is
from Idaho. He goes home the same day Elder Laguna does. We should
find out tomorrow if he will stay with us for the rest of the transfer
or if he'll get a new companion. It's been interesting. He works hard,
just sometimes a little too much. We have rubbed off on him a little
bit and he can relax more now. There is a time to be serious and a
time to have fun. He's never had a lot of "fun" companions and Elder
Laguna and I have a lot of fun so he is loosening up. He is awesome
though. We even had a glow in the dark pillow fight on Saturday
night... Haha it was super fun!! We all get along, it's just different
getting used to a new companion again while I am still with my old
one. It's been working pretty well, except we have 2 areas still... So
we have to work that out. It is all one ward, which is good, but 2
area books and so we have to teach twice as many lessons, but only get
to count half of them. It's interesting, but it works. That's the
hardest part is the 2 areas.

We have a few new investigators. We don't have a ton of time to find
now though, which is good and bad. When we have any time we go see
Elder Snells investigators, which is good, but our area isn't growing
much. It's just a weird situation. We will find out tomorrow,
hopefully. If we do stay together we are going to see if we can
combine area books and just make one huge area. That would make
everything easier.

Josh is doing awesome! He is a really good district leader. He knows
what he is doing and he knows how to help us. He really cares about
each companionship and focuses on their needs specifically while
focusing on the district as a whole. He's awesome.

Okay, so my spiritual experience for the week isn't really just one
experience. It is kind of something I have been experiencing all week.
So, as we are trying to bounce back and forth between our
investigators and Elder Snells investigators, it's been kind of crazy,
but we have been teaching a lot. Now, I don't know many of these
people, and several times we have been on splits and either it was
just me and a member teaching an investigator, or just me and elder
Laguna teaching them, and we don't know them. Haha it's been kind of
crazy. But one thing that I have really realized is what a great
blessing it is to love these people. I don't even know them, yet while
we are teaching them I can feel how much I care about them. I can't
even describe it. We had one lady yell at us and tell us her son will
never be baptized in our church, even though he had a date set
already. She told us no and She was tearing Elder Snell apart. I could
feel how much Elder Snell cared for this family and I realized how
much I cared for them too. This was the first time I ever met them.
She just yelled at us and we just sat there and tried to testify and
explain why we are there. By the end of it she agreed to let us come
back to keep teaching her son, but she still didn't want him to be
baptized. So, there was some progress made. It has just been a crazy
week, but I'm grateful that as a missionary I am able to feel how much
God truly loves his children. It's such a wonderful blessing.

Okay, my scripture isn't going to be specifically centered around one
scripture. It is centered around a definition in the bible dictionary.
The word being defined is Charity. Here is what it says: The highest,
noblest, strongest kind of love, not merely affection; the pure love
of Christ. It is never used to denote alms or deeds of benevolence,
although it may be a prompting motive (1 Cor. 8:1; 13:1–4, 8; 13;
14:1; Moro. 7:47). Those are some scriptures that go with it, but I
want to focus on the definition. The highest, noblest, strongest kind
of love... Words cannot express how powerful that is to me. I love all
three of those words. It is the highest. Nothing can top it. Nothing.
It is the noblest. There is nothing better. It is the most selfless,
righteous, perfect love that anyone could ever have or feel for
another. It is the strongest. It cannot be broken. No matter what
happens or what that person does, it cannot be broken. That just hits
me so hard. I literally cannot fathom words that describe how much I
love this definition. I know that Christ feels this way about you. I
KNOW that. I promise that. His love cannot be broken. It is perfect,
unselfish, undying, indescribable. I wish I could do this more
justice, but it honestly cannot explain it. He loves you. He always
has, always will. No matter what you do, he is there. We have the
opportunity to develop this attribute. Isn't that amazing?! We can
feel this way about EVERYONE! It is a commandment, so why not magnify
it? I know I kind of rambled, but I truly cannot explain charity, but
I love it and feel it so strongly.

I love each of you so much! I truly wish that I could show you how
much I love you. I hope that you are all doing well and that you are
staying safe. Have a wonderful week! And Happy Fathers Day to all of
you amazing fathers! Especially to my Dad. You are the greatest
example to me. You have always been my hero. I would not be the man I
am today if I did not have such an amazing example to follow. I love
you! Thank you for everything!

Love,
Elder Moyes

Dirty Dash/Wade through much affliction

 

So we (mostly me at first) decided it would be fun to enter the Dirty Dash this year. And it WAS fun! Right up until the moment I broke my leg. I think the reason Alex had to study the scripture in his email this week was for me because I am feeling like I am higher than waist deep at the moment and not being so positive about it :) Then another missionary mom posted about unmet expectations and how that can bring frustration and disappointment but if we really think about it we can change our emotions or I think, attitude by changing our expectations. So here is to a change in attitude and expectations on my part. I am grateful for all the family and friends who support me through the good and the not as good and I love the sweet message of peace the gospel always brings with it if we just listen closely.

 

Some of our Dirty Dash photos :)

 

 

 Enjoying some "free skittles" he said  and some homemade bread someone left on their porch :)

Hola!!

I'm glad to hear that you guys had a good time at the dirty dash. For the most part...  I'm sorry to hear about your leg, mom. :/ you're not supposed to get hurt!! I wish I could be there to help out, but I guess that's not my job. Haha so how does it feel? What did the doctor say? 

Well this past week was long, but really good. Interviews went really well. Probably my favorite interview so far. I felt like he really cared and it was good. I got some questions answered and left it feeling like I was doing a good job and knowing what I needed to improve on.  

So my spiritual though is going to be about yesterday. Yesterday was zone conference and it was awesome!! Elder Clark from the first quorum of the seventy was there. So yesterday was an exhausting day. We got up at 5 and then drove to Sarasota. I drove and it took about 2 hours. Then we had our conference which started at 8:30 and went until 4:00. Yeah, it was long. Haha then we drove back, which took almost 3 hours. Yeah, it was long, but good. Elder Clark is awesome. He threw down! He was encouraging us and being nice, then he completely changed and basically told us that we are not good enough and we have to do a thousand times better if we ever want to succeed at anything. Then went back to being encouraging and nice. Haha he did that the whole time. So about have the time I felt like I was doing well and then the other half I felt like a complete failure. But it was definitely a learning experience and I came away with a lot that I need to work on, but also with a knowledge of what I am doing well. He talked about love, and planning, and faith and prayer. It was good. 

My scripture is going to be 1 Nephi 17: 1-2 

1 And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness. 

2 And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings. 

 So this was the chapter that we were supposed to study before zone conference. So I studied it. However, we didn't use it or discuss it at all during the conference, but I am fine with that because I still learned a lot from this chapter. I want to focus on two aspects of these scriptures. The first, is in verse 1. "We did travel and wade through much affliction..." I really love that word, wade. It does  to say walk, run, jog, pass through, it says wade. Wading is something that is not easy to do. It means that whatever you are going through is at least about knee height, maybe higher. That means it's hard. They weren't just dealing with trials, they were wading through them. Their trials were extremely difficult to bear, but they could still do it. The second aspect is in verse 2, "and so great were the blessings of The Lord upon us..." What?! You are wading through afflictions, but the blessings are so great? This family truly understood the atonement. They truly understood how to "take his yoke upon you that your burdens may be light." They understood that even though their trials are hard, that God is with you ALWAYS. And they understood that when they could no longer wade through their afflictions, that Christ was there to help carry them when it got too deep. They understood how taking his yoke upon them really does make everything so much easier. He will never forsake us. He cannot do it. He loves us way too much to even fathom leaving us alone. He won't do everything for us, but he knows our breaking point and he knows when he needs to step in. "Some the blessings come soon; some come late; and some don't come til heaven." - Elder Holland. He loves you. Never forget that. Never. He will always be there for you, especially when you feel like nobody else is. And if you don't know that yet, then get on your knees and find out.  

One of the greatest blessings that I have received while being out here is the opportunity that I have to almost instantly love people. I truly love each one of you. I cannot express how much I love you. You are all part of my family and I wish that you could understand how I feel. God loves each of you and he will always protect you. I hope that you each have an amazing week and that everything goes well.  

Love,

Elder Moyes

A Baptism

We knew that Micaela's baptism was coming up this week. Taylor bore his testimony in church and mentioned how thankful he was for Alex and his mission service and we included Micaela in all our prayers so that Satan would not get in the way of this baptism taking place. All day Saturday especially I was thinking of what was taking place, hopefully, in Florida and wishing I could know that all went well. Then as I was scrolling through Facebook I saw this sweet picture posted on their mission facebook page!

What a blessing it was to know that all went well and this lovely sister now had the gospel more fully in her life and could receive all the blessings our Heavenly Father has in store for her and her family. I love the simple message of this gospel and am so grateful for a missionary son and two other terrific kids who know why they are here and that they need to be strong to prepare the world for the coming of our Savior.

Hola!!!

Sounds like Mom had a crazy week with the schools graduations. Sounds like they went well though. :) In the first picture of Russell(turtle) that you sent me I thought he was pretty big... Haha nope. He's cute though. :) 

That is definitely one thing I don't miss about soccer; tryouts. Haha they are always so stressful. I'm glad that everything worked out though and that they are over now. :) it's crazy that next Spring T will be trying out for High School!!

That's awesome that you got up and bore your testimony, T! I almost did, but there wasn't enough time so I didn't.  maybe next month. :)

That's good that you guys got to meet some new people. It sounds like President Hutchison is really hitting hard on missionary work. That is super awesome!!! I am glad that I'll get home and still be able to focus on missionary work a lot. :)  

On Saturday we had the baptism of Micaela. It was awesome!!! So now I have been in the gulf of Mexico. We were the witnesses and she wanted it in the beach so we had to go out to where they were in order to see. It was awesome!! Such a great experience. I'll send a few pictures. And then yesterday we had the confirmation. It was awesome. I'm so happy for her! And I'm the one who submitted the picture to our mission. They sent an email telling us to send in more pictures and so I figured, why not?  

Also this week we got a new district leader. And, guess who it is?! Elder Walker. :) He is also double training. So we had district meeting on Wednesday and it was really really good. He is an amazing missionary. (Not like that ever came as a surprise, but it was nice having him there)

Yeah, josh told me that Julie’s sister is in his ward. :) He also told our whole district that I used to be his home teacher. They all freaked out. Haha it was funny. 

So, like I said, the next few weeks are going to be a little crazy. This week we have interviews with President. We will see how those go. Those are on Wednesday. And then next Monday we have a zone conference, and a general authority is coming... We don't know who yet, but my guess is one of the twelve because we have had Elder Teh come and he is a seventy, and we knew about it way before hand. This we know nothing about. It seems very secretive. Haha so we shall see. It would be super cool if President Walker came. :) Then I would get to meet Dads mission president. :) anyways, due to the zone conference being next Monday, Pday will be on Tuesday, the 10th.  

Alright, well the spiritual experience was definitely the baptism and the confirmation. It was amazing to be a part of it. The scripture this week is going to be Matthew 13: 36-43. I have been studying a lot more about the life of Jesus Christ and I have been watching the new bible videos. They are amazing! This is one of them. And I chose this scripture because this is what we are doing. We are separating the wheat from the tares. We have a duty to help bring souls unto Christ, but if they are not willing then let them be. We are not here to force people, we are here to invite and if they have that desire then we help them strengthen their desire. We help build on their faith. We are not here to try and convince. These are the last days and we must understand that people have their agency. Yes, it is devastating when people don't want to put forth the effort, but it’s their choice. We have been told what to do, so let us go forth and do it. 

I love you!!! I hope that you are all staying safe and having an enjoyable time. Remember to preach the gospel to everyone, even if it is simply posting pictures or being an example. Have an amazing week!! I will email next Tuesday!

Love,

Elder Moyes

Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend was nice to enjoy spending time with family and remembering those wonderful family members who have passed away. Each year we try to talk about fun stories or memorable things about each resting spot we visit. We missed having Alex with us this year but are so glad he is helping others unite their families for eternity.

Hola!! 

It's always so nice to hear about everything that is going on back home. :) I've decided that if we ever want to stop buying pets, I need to stay home more. Haha the last few pets we've gotten, I wasn't there. :) but that's awesome! I have to admit, it was a surprise to see the turtle picture. Haha 

 

 

 

Of course dad did great on his talk! He always does. :) I love the notes! Both of those conference talks are amazing! I've decided I don't like missing all of your guys' talks. Haha oh well.  

Yeah, my back is still good. He is moving back to Utah because they moved here and nothing was working out. Everything just felt wrong, so they are moving back. :) and last Pday we played "scatter ball" which is basically like freeze tag except with dodgeballs. :) haha it was fun.  

Well, we had transfer calls on Saturday. I am staying with Elder Laguna for another one. President changed everything else though. 3 leaders are going home so we needed 1 new AP and 2 new ZL's. Well, he took out some so now we need 1 new AP and 5 new ZL's... Yeah, he changes a lot of stuff. I'm not sure if Elder Walker will be a ZL still. He is going to train again. :) but yeah, he changed a lot, except down here. So I am staying here for another transfer. 

Alright, the spiritual experience was pretty cool. It happened on Thursday. So we are fairly new to this area still and we have met with Makayla once before. She has been taking lessons for a couple of years now and she has been pretty close to getting baptized. So, we had our second meeting with her on Thursday. We haven't even taught her anything, but we ask her if she had talked with her daughters about her being baptized. Guess what she said? She said, "Yeah I have. I already told them that I was getting baptized on the 31 of this month." We were so confused, but yes, she set her own date!!!! Haha it was awesome!! I am  so happy for her!! So this past weekend was kind of crazy. We had to get everything ready. It's all basically ready. But here are the details, she is getting baptized this Saturday on the beach!!! And Elder Laguna and I are the witnesses, so guess what? I get to go in the water!! yup.

It was awesome, She had her interview yesterday and it went really well. Her daughters have not been taking the lessons, but they are excited for her. She is the maid for some members and they have been there with her through all of this. It was awesome. So yeah, there was the experience for the week. 

The scripture this week is going to be a little strange. It is from Elder Holland’s general conference talk. It is Matthew 23: 38. "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." What does desolate mean? Well, in 3 Nephi 4: 2- 3 it says: 2 "But behold, there were no wild beasts nor game in those lands which had been deserted by the Nephites, and there was no game for the robbers save it were in the wilderness."

3 "And the robbers could not exist save it were in the wilderness, for the want of food; for the Nephites had left their lands desolate, and had gathered their flocks and their herds and all their substance, and they were in one body." The Nephites had completely left their lands desolate. Absolutely nothing. Literally, nothing except empty buildings. Elder Holland says, "And therein lies a message for every young man and young woman in this Church. You may wonder if it is worth it to take a courageous moral stand in high school or to go on a mission only to have your most cherished beliefs reviled or to strive against much in society that sometimes ridicules a life of religious devotion. Yes, it is worth it, because the alternative is to have our “houses” left unto us “desolate”--desolate individuals, desolate families, desolate neighborhoods, and desolate nations." If we are disobedient, our houses might not literally be desolate. Our physical things might not be gone, but our spirits will be left desolate. There will be nothing there for us to use to sustain ourselves. Everything spiritual whether it be our faith, our testimonies, or even our spirits, if we do not continuously strive to grow and progress, we will shrink and digress. There is no "maintaining" a testimony or "maintaining" your faith. It is either growing, or dying. You cannot plant a seed, work on it until it becomes a small flower, and then just set it aside to stay like that forever. It doesn't work that way. We have to constantly feed it. We cannot build up our testimonies and then set them aside and think that it will stay the same. It does not work like that. You might think that if you continue to try and strengthen your testimony that it will be harder and harder. You're right. It will get harder and harder because satan wants to stop it. Doing nothing is a whole lot easier. Not sharing the gospel and not doing the little things is a lot easier. Why? Because satan knows that your testimony is dying. He knows that he is winning, so he doesn't need to try as hard. Yes, there will be challenges. Yes, life sucks sometimes.  Yes, our confidence and our faith might take a small blow every once in a while. But yes, God is there to help you through that. Yes, you will be happier. And "Yes, it is worth it, because the alternative is to have our “houses” left unto us “desolate.” I encourage each of you to continue doing the little things. They make the biggest difference. Read the scriptures. Pray. Go to church. Have Family Home Evening. Your spirits need just as much sustenance, if not more, than your bodies. So keep feeding them.  

I love you all with all my heart. I hope that you all have had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I hope that you each have a great week!

Love,

Elder Moyes